Filed in archive
High Stakes Poker
, Internet Poker
on August 30, 2010
©
Boa-sorte&Careca
There are two main types of online poker bonuses: sign up bonuses and reload bonuses.
The sign up bonus, which is also the first deposit bonus, is the main bonus. Every poker site gives some sign up bonus, and to get a sign up bonus, you have to sign up and make a real money deposit. Sign up bonuses only apply on your first deposit at the poker site.
Most sign up bonuses come as a percentage match up to a total bonus size. They go from a 100% up to $500 match. This means that every dollar you deposit (up to $500) will be matched with a bonus dollar. But you can't just deposit $500, then cash out $1,000 to realize an instant $500 profit!? You still have to deal with clearing requirements. It usually takes about 60 to 90 days after you make your first deposit to clear the bonus. If you choose to withdraw before clearing the entire bonus, you will forfeit uncleared bonus dollars.
Then there is the reload bonus. They work the same as sign up bonuses, except you can redeem them on any deposit. Very few poker rooms have running reload bonuses. Usually you can only redeem them by playing a lot at the poker room, or on promotions at the holidays.
Now here's the "catch." There is always a clearing requirement before you can wager or withdraw the bonus money. And there are three types of clearing requirements - based on total rake, based on contributed rake, and based on raked hands played.
Most clearing requirements are based on total rake. As you play real money you build up rake, and you earn "Frequent Player Points" (FPP). Every time you reach a fixed amount of FPPs you can redeem some of your bonus money. At cash tables, you earn a certain amount of FPPs for every dollar that is raked at your table. The poker site gives points equally based on the table's total rake.
Some poker sites use a "contributed rake" system. It measures exactly how much rake each player paid. Both total rake and contributed rake clearing requirements base their bonus requirements on FPP accumulation.
And there is the raked hands system. Here, the poker site counts the number of raked hands you have played before you receive your bonus. For example, at some sites, you have to play 10,000 raked hands before you can receive the $1,000 sign up bonus. A raked hand is one where rake was taken from the pot.
Check clearing requirements for bonuses before you deposit. Tough clearing requirements can turn a good-looking bonus into a losing deal. Small bonuses with easy terms are better than large bonuses with difficult requirements.
Filed in archive
Internet Poker
, Poker Laws
on August 28, 2010
©
plugimi
The US government always wants to regulate forms of gambling, hoping to control crime and abuses by underage players. With the advent of Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos, and newer Native American and Reservation-Area casinos, laws were made to protect who could play poker in brick and mortar settings.
When poker went online, the laws lost their clarity because there are no global or national Internet regulations. The Wire Act of 1961 has been the main gambling law in the US for almost fifty years. It was mainly written to prevent illegal sports betting, and it targets any wagers made over "wired communication means."
Many prosecutors have tried to use the Wire Act to stop internet poker. In the late 1990s and early 2000s many state and federal cases have gotten mixed results when trying to apply the Wire Act to internet poker. Quite simply, the Wire Act has not been effective in controlling internet poker.
Then came the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA. This was passed by US Congress in July 2006. It was designed to ban all money transfers from U.S. financial institutions to any illegal Internet site, specifically online gambling sites. The authors thought it would be easier to stop the cash flow of online gambling sites than to ban online gambling.
UIGEA opponents immediately worked to overturn the legislation, which is still in progress today. U.S. leaders are divided on the issue, many of whom claim that tax from legal online poker could solve the country's dire financial woes. The full terms of the UIGEA went into effect on June 1, 2010.
Although the Federal standpoint is a gray area at best, some states have made the matter clearer by explicity banning internet poker with legislation. Other states have no stance on the matter. States where internet poker is banned include Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.
In other states, you can legally play internet poker. No Federal law targets individuals - they are focused on stopping the groups who accept bets over the internet. So far, no poker player has ever been prosecuted for playing online poker.
Filed in archive
Internet Poker
, Poker Strategies
on August 27, 2010
©
Viri G
Let's look at random number generators first. Internet poker rooms don't have live dealers so they use some other means to shuffle and deal the virtual poker cards. Most poker sites use a random number generators (RNGs) to determine which cards come off the deck. RNGs are advanced applications that give absolutely random results. Poker room's RNGs are among the most advanced RNGs in the world.
All poker websites go through accreditation by third party testing companies. There are groups like Cigital Accreditation and Technical Systems Testing Accreditation that conduct tests on the poker room's RNGs, and then give public and accurate reports.
What about the rake? Full Tilt Poker uses a 5% rake schedule with a $3 maximum. The MGM takes $1 of rake every time the pot reaches $10. So, Full Tilt offers a better rake than the MGM's poker room. Remember also that there is no tipping at online poker tables, and you will see that playing online is much "cheaper" than playing at live poker tables.
Can online players at the table collude in an effort to outsmart the other players at the table? This is called "collusion", and is illegal in live poker rooms and highly frowned upon at online poker rooms. The most common way that players collude online is to use cell phones or instant messenger programs.
However, it is very easy for internet poker rooms to see this behavior, because it is so out of line with normal poker behavior. Most colluders are very poor at their job and end up going broke because they don't know what they are doing.
Multi-accounting is another way players cheat at online poker. This happens when one player has multiple accounts at the same poker site, and enters the same multi-table tournament more than once. Poker sites do not allow players with the same IP address to join the same cash tables or sit and gos - only multi table tournaments.
Filed in archive
Internet Poker
, Poker Products
on August 26, 2010
©
Orin Zebest
In a live game, players travel down roads to go to a casino. On the Internet, players go on web pages to join a virtual casino.
Players in a live game sign up for a "Player's Card" and walk through the casino to the poker room. On the Internet, players register for an account and download the website's software.
In a face-to-face game, a player goes to the cashier's cage to purchase poker chips. On the internet, a player uses a credit card to purchase poker chips.
In real life, a player who already has chips then goes to the front desk and signs up for the poker game they want to play. On the Internet, players browse through the "Lobby" to look for the game they want to play.
Once a player has found the game he wants to play in real life, he sits down at the table and starts playing. On the Internet, once a player has found the game he wants to play, he clicks the game to open the poker table and starts playing.
All the players in a face-to face game sit at the same table, and a dealer deals the cards and handles the bets. On the Internet, each player is assigned an "avatar" to represent them at the table, and the poker room's software deals the cards and handles the bets.
Just like at a live poker room, there are different games to be played on the internet (Hold'em, Omaha, Seven Stud, etc). There are also different stakes (starting at $0.01/$0.02 all the way up to $2,000/$4,000) and different variations (there are cash games, sit and gos, multi table tournaments, heads up matches, etc).
But there are differences as well. Internet poker rooms are able to offer features that live casinos cannot:
- Multi-tabling - online playing lets players play more than one table at the same time. Many rooms allow players to play at least16 tables at once!
- Micro-stakes - internet poker rooms have cash games starting at just $0.01/$0.02 and sit and gos/tournaments starting at just $0.10.
- Freerolls - on the net, players can enter freeroll tournaments that have real money prize pools, but are free to enter.
- Crazy Variations - Some sites offer the "Cashout Tournaments" at Full Tilt Poker where players can cash out of a tournament at any time, or the "Step Sit and Gos" at PokerStars where players can work their way up a ladder of sit and gos to qualify for major tournaments with very small investments.
Filed in archive
Internet Poker
, Poker Products
on August 25, 2010
©
Podknox
Good poker sites have:
- Smooth, easy to use, and glitch-free poker software. Just sign up, download the software, and go to the play money tables. The play money tables use the same software as the real money tables. If you like the software at the play money tables, you will like the real money tables.
- Lots of player traffic so tables are always running. Go to www.PokerScout.com to look at poker traffic rankings. You want a website that has lots of players so that there is always a game going on when you sign in.
- Good payment processing, including lots of deposit options such as credit cards and eChecks, and lots of withdrawal options such as paper checks or bank wires. Check out the "Banking" or "Real Money" page of the online poker room. It should have all deposit and withdrawal options you have at the poker site.
- Responsive and knowledgeable support teams to handle any potential problems. Visit the website's "Support" page. Call, email, or chat with the support team. Ask a few basic questions.
- A sign up bonus with easy to understand and easy to clear requirements. Check out if the bonus is really something you can withdraw, meaning it is "clearable", or if it is just a marketing scheme. Check how many days it takes to clear the bonus. Sixty to ninety days is reasonable. Check also that you get your money after you clear the entire bonus. And check if you need a bonus code to actually redeem the bonus.
- Reward programs that offer tangible rewards such as cash-back, merchandise, or freeroll entries (pretty much anything above and beyond reload bonuses). This is the trickiest part of playing online poker. Just make sure there is actually a rewards program, that you understand how the rewards are given, and that the poker site actually follows its own rewards program.
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